WESH 2 caught up with Alfredo Sosa and his wife enjoying a day at Fun Spot with their two kids as summer vacation comes to a close. Like many locals, they enjoy the smaller, outdoor attractions that seem a bit less crowded than the major theme parks, as we continue to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. "It allows them to be outside a little bit more and it's a great place to be. We love it. We come here once a week or once every two weeks. It's fun. It's a great distraction for all of the family," Sosa said. Central Florida is coming off one of its strongest weeks when it comes to hotel occupancy since the pandemic began, with tourist development tax collections rising enough, that in the past two months, Orange County has not had to dip into reserves to pay off debt on the convention center. "By far this will be the best summer we have had! We have had tremendous business from our local population here along with, in the last six weeks or so a wonderful return of tourists coming back!" John Chidester, Fun Spot America, said. The Hulsumds are originally from Norway, live in Miami and decided to do a quick holiday staycation in Orlando, but they're sticking to outdoor activities. "In a place like this it's not that crowded and people are separated and we're all fully vaccinated," Andreas Hulsumd said. "I feel comfortable being here. No worries actually," Rachel Hulsumd said. Smaller attractions along International Drive are barometers for how well a lot of businesses are doing in the tourism area, so if there are a lot of people here, there tend to be a lot in the restaurants and shops. For example, the quarter-mile backup in both directions pouring into SeaWorld's Aquatica was like much of the I-Drive traffic this weekend. A spokesman for the Slingshot Group, operator of the StarFlyer, says he expects a drop in weekday business after Labor Day but for weekends to remain strong.Gatorland is up 20% this summer from its previous record in 2019. But post-Labor Day is uncertain.John Chidester of Fun Spot is telling WESH what other small park operators are saying:"We are concerned that there is a little fall back on the convention business but so far we have not seen anything that indicates that it is going to be a drastic reduction in attendance here."Even as more people are traveling, the latest jobs report says half a million in the hotel sector remain unemployed.The new labor secretary tells WESH, the surge in cases, hospitalizations and deaths from the Delta variant, may be discouraging people from getting back to work."There is no harm in encouraging people when necessary whether it's a local recommendation or CDC recommendation to wear a mask. I think, what the point of it is to keep people safe, healthy and alive," Marty Walsh, U.S. Department Of Labor Secretary, said.